Reporter's claims of Disney, News Corp. bullying head to trial.

In a ruling that may leave both sides claiming victory, a 2nd District appellate panel issued a split decision in a suit brought by L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke against Walt Disney Co. and New York Post owner News Corp.

Finke, a former Post reporter, has alleged that Disney and the newspaper cooperated in her dismissal from the paper after she wrote an article on Disney's long-running royalty fight with the licensors of the "Winnie the Pooh" brand.

In the Jan. 20 ruling, the panel threw out Finke's claim of unlawful business practices, saying she did not have proof that "Disney and NYP cooperated in concealing the truth about the Pooh litigation from members of the public and, in particular, from Disney shareholders by discrediting Finke.'"

At the same time, it let stand Finke's claims of intentional economic interference and intentional or negligent emotional distress, because there is a probability she could succeed on the merits of those claims, the ruling says.

Those issues will now be tried in L.A. Superior Court.

Finke's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, a partner at O'Donnell & Shaeffer LLP, did not return phone calls. Julie Shepard, an attorney at Hogan & Harlson LLP representing the Post, did not return calls.

Hard to Swallow

A 33-year-old Huntington Park woman has filed a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars on behalf of the thousands of Californians who purchased the weight loss product TrimSpa EF.

TrimSpa EF, promoted by model Anna Nicole Smith, was recently released as an ephedra-free pill that claims to contain a component known to suppress the appetite, according to a lawsuit filed Jan. 21 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The suit claims TrimSpa EF does not include the appetite-suppressing component.

The Food and Drug Administration banned the use of ephedra in December, effective March 1.

"Not only did she not lose weight, and not only did her appetite fail to be suppressed, but she reported that she felt hungrier," said Wayne Kreger, a partner at Verboon Milstein & Peter LLP representing the plaintiff, Belkis La Rosa.

The suit, which seeks class action certification, is filed against Trimspa Corp. and its parent company, Nutramerica Corp., based in Cedar Knolls, N.J. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

The suit alleges violations of the California's false and misleading advertising business practice laws and California civil codes.

SEC Move

The former regional trial counsel at the Pacific regional office of the Securities and Exchange Commission in L.A. has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in the securities litigation group in L.A.

Thomas Zaccaro, who has managed and supervised litigation and administrative proceedings from the SEC's West Coast office for three years, wits lead counsel in various financial and accounting fraud cases.

Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at [phone] ext. 225, or at [e-mail].